22nd Nov: Hyde Park

Brief history of Hyde park: In 1536 Henry VIII acquired Hyde park from the monks of Westminster and turned the park into private hunting ground. Charles I opened the park to the general public in 1637. In 1782 Queen Caroline created the Serpentine lake, which was one of the first artificial lakes in England to be designed to look natural. In the 1820's George IV hired Decimus Burton to create a monumental entrance at Hyde park corner and take down the walls to be replaced by railings and new gates. At the same time John Rennie built a bridge across the Serpentine which formally split Hyde park and Kensington Gardens.
I visited Hyde Park for research into part one of macro landscape. My aim was to find areas of interest i.e. the Rose garden and tourist points, for example the boat house, Diana walk and memorial, and to gain an understanding of the park itself. At the same time I looked at how people used the park i.e. following the set paths or creating their own by cutting across the green spaces. I hoped that all the information gained would help me in differentiating between Hyde park and other parks and thus in creating my five overlays.